First Impressions: Using the Nikon D800

Lens Compatibility

The D800, like all currrent high-end Nikon DSLRs, is compatible with both DX and FX (full-frame) AF lenses, and be programmed to accept up to nine manual 'Non-CPU' Ai-standard lenses. Once programmed in, it is possible to mount and use an older lens exactly as you would on an older camera, focussing manually, and adjusting the aperture using the mechanical aperture ring. The viewfinder focus confirmation indicator and the left/right focus 'arrows' work too, which is handy.

My oldest Nikon lens is a Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4 from 1962 (ish) but because it lacks an Ai coupling I can't mount it on the D800. My mid-60s Nikkor 105mm f/2.5, however, which at some point in its life was 'updated' somewhat messily to the Ai standard, will fit just fine.

I shoot a lot with my 'converted' 105mm - not because it is the sharpest lens I own (it isn't) but because it's small, light, and I like the way it renders detail, particularly in portraits. I've always been happy with its performance on the 12MP sensors of the D700 and D3S, and I was curious about how it would perform when bolted onto the front of a 36.3MP sensor.

In principle, a 36MP sensor will always deliver more detail than a 12MP sensor paired with the same lens, just not necessarily in proportion with the pixel count. Even if the results don't look as sharp at a pixel level, prints made from the 36MP file should, in theory, look more detailed.

For this scene, I set the D800 on a tripod, in natural light and shot my 105mm at f/2.5 through f/8 in one stop increments. I shot in raw mode and processed 'to taste' in ACR 6.7.

At f/2.5 there's plenty of detail but things are a little hazy and fringing is very obvious around high-contrast edges. Critical image quality improves on stopping down, until by f/8 sharpness is high, there's a lot of detail and only a little residual fringing.

Nikon D800, Nikkor-S 105mm f/2.5 (Ai converted)105mm, f/2.5, ISO 200

Nikon D800, Nikkor-S 105mm f/2.5 (Ai converted)105mm, f/4, ISO 200

Nikon D800, Nikkor-S 105mm f/2.5 (Ai converted)105mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Nikon D800, Nikkor-S 105mm f/2.5 (Ai converted)105mm, f/8, ISO 200

In coldly critical terms, my 50 year-old 105mm isn't a fantastic lens on the D800, but neither is it outstanding (by modern standards) when paired with a D700 or D3S. Reassuringly though, it remains the same pleasant, pocketable portrait lens that it always has been. In demanding, high-contrast scenes like the one of the cameras, above, fringing is obvious, and more noticeable when viewed alongside equivalent images taken on the 12MP D3S, at 100%. But that's just because the D800's files are larger. When the D800's output is downsized to 12MP, results from the two cameras are virtually indistinguishable.

Taken on the same Ai-converted Nikkor-S 105mm f/2.5 manual lens, this image, taken at f/2.8 (raw file processed 'to taste' in ACR 6.7) displays the same smooth rendition on the 36.3MP sensor of the D800 as I'd expect from my experience of using it on much lower-resolution cameras.

The only major difference is that focussing is much, much more critical on the higher-resolution camera - this final image is one of a series of almost 20 focus-bracketed frames, and one of only a couple where my subject's eye is in sharp focus when viewed at 100%.

The same is true of a couple of other lenses that I've experimented with - a late 1960s Ai converted 50mm f/1.4 and a slightly more modern Ai-S 35mm f/1.4. Optically, they're just as useable on the D800 as they are on the D700/D3s, and when stopped down they're capable of transmitting plenty of detail to the sensor. Newer primes like the excellent AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 are better, but if you're thinking of investing in a D800 there's no need to sell your old lens collection yet.

Watch out for one thing though - focussing. If, like me, you like to shoot 'wide open' you'll find that the D800's 36.3 million pixels are very unforgiving of even minor focussing errors, something that habitual 12MP shooters will just have to get used to. The D800's high-resolution sensor really does demand a medium-format level of attention to focus accuracy, and for critical work, I'd strongly recommend use live view mode and focussing manually.

DX Crop Mode

I've mentioned that the D800 is compatible with DX lenses, designed for the APS-C format, and while this isn't a new feature, it is far more useful than it has been in previous FX format Nikon DSLRS. The D700 could accept DX format lenses, but resolution dropped to 5MP. The D800, by comparison, can capture 15MP images in the 1.5 X crop DX format - a far more useable resolution (and not far off the native resolution of the DX format D7000).

Besides a respectable output resolution, the other benefit of the DX format is that in this mode the D800's AF array covers almost the entire image area. This has obvious appeal for certain types of photography, perhaps most obviously sports and wildlife.

The D800's DX format shooting mode can be selected manually, but it is activated automatically when a DX lens is mounted. As it was in the D700, the bounds of the DX frame are indicated in the D800's viewfinder with a black rectangle.As you can see, in DX mode, the D800's 51-point AF array covers a very large proportion of the image area.

D800, AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm /f2.8 DXISO 200, 640sec, f/8

D800, AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm /f2.8 DXISO 250, 200sec, f/9

Using Movie Mode

The D700 didn't have a movie mode (amazing how much has changed in 3, 1/2 years) but the D800 offers one of the most advanced video-shooting specifications around - a clear sign that Nikon has its eye on the semi-pro and enthusiast videographers that Canon captured with the 5D Mark II. I haven't done much video shooting on the D800 yet (but our friend Dan Chung has a nice overview of his early experience here) but my first impressions of both the functionality and quality are very good.

Because the D800 replaces the video-less D700, there will inevitably be some users who come to the new camera having not shot video using a DSLR before. If it sounds like I'm describing you, you'll be pleased to know that despite its advanced video specification, the D800 is pretty easy to get to grips with.

Before shooting movie footage you first have to activate live view, in movie mode. The first thing that you'll notice is that the framing switches to a 16:9 preview, and the second thing you'll (hopefully) spot is that your exposure settings might have changed. Exposure is set independantly in still and video modes, so you need to get into the habit of setting up for video shooting once you've switched into movie live view mode, not before.

Once you're in movie live view mode, pressing the red button to the left of the shutter release initiates movie recording.

The D800 includes a microphone port for recording audio, and a headphone jack for 'live' sound monitoring during recording. Uncompressed video can also be saved to an external recorder via the HDMI port.

The D800 features a red button on its top-plate but in normal shooting mode, pressing it won't do anything. To initiate video recording you must first be in live view mode, with the live view switch set to 'movie' (denoted by an icon of a video camera).

Full shutter control from 1/30 - 1/8000 is possible during movie shooting, and full aperture control as well. Autofocus is contrast-detection, obviously, and very accurate if not as fast as we'd expect from a high-end Micro Four Thirds camera. For casual videos, the D800's AF-F mode - where focus is continually adjusted - is useful, but in my limited experience of using the feature, the frequent focus acquisition and reacquisition can be distracting.

Guys I think you all have to accept that no one is gonna system swap you are Nikon or Canon ...

Actually yeah there may be a little bit noise on the D800 but when you think about the actually print size not 100% due to the resolution this noise is gonna be less visible (obvious oversight by those pointlessly trying to convince Nikon users to sell 30 years worth of kit and buy a Canon!)

Everyone loves there own and feels the need to promote there own - in the professional fields of DSLR you are Nikon or Canon that is it ... Once you are committed optically you're in forever ... If your not and you are considering one of these cameras - save the money and go but a decent lens it'll improve your photography much more ..

hi guys i've just notice a mark in some of my picture taken (top left hand side) so i've checked all my previous pictures and the mark is in some of them (same mark same location) .i do clean my lens before and after use , i did clean also the mirror but in some of them the mark appears , any one knows about that please

It's dust/dirt on your sensor - dirt on the mirror won't show on the image .. Dirt or a Mark on the lens will degrade the image quality but is unlikely to appear as you describe. The reason you're seeing in some images and not others comes down to your d-o-f setting the smaller the aperture the more you are going to see this .. The content of the image can obscure it too ... Get your sensor cleaned (by a professional as getting it wrong will kill your camera permanently) problem solved

Hi guys i've emailed few .NEF RAW pictures to a friend of mind unfortunately he's not able to open them ( he uses microsoft laptop) do i have to convert the files before sending them or does he have o use a specificsoftware to view the pic ?thank you

Convert them to Tiffs (for best quality) or JPEG (for ease and size ) using Nikon software of photoshop... Save as a cope keep the RAW as it's your digital negative you can work on this much more than the others in terms of recovery etc without damaging the image - export to TIFF at the last possible moment do and serious work in CS then depending on the end users needs export as a 8bit tiff or a JPEG ,.

There are a couple of things that I find a bit frustrating - the first being the shutter noise... it's loud!! I shoot a lot of weddings and camera clicking during the ceremony is not entirely desirable. Even on the Q ("quiet mode") there's one heck of a clunk. I'm also confused as to why, during playback, the "OK" button opens up the retouch menu. In-camera retouching is something that I'd never bother with and it seems more of a gimmick than something any one serious enough to spend £2.5k on a body would ever seriously consider as an option. It seems a waste of a button & it would be nice to be able to reassign this button but I can't see anywhere in the menus to do this. Anyone know how?These are only minor things & nowhere near a deal breaker. The camera's a powerhouse which will remain at the top of any photographer's "want list" for quite some time to come and I suppose Nikon had to throw a couple of minor niggly bits in so they have something to improve on for future models lol

OK.. after a 5 month wait from first ordering my D800, I've finally got mine delivered. First impressions are it's an incredible piece of kit. I'm especially impressed with its low light capabilities. I took a shot in a dimly lit room without flash using an iso of 2000 and the results astounded me. Even in the shadowed areas I was able to pull out some detail without getting the usual splattering of coloured noise. Ok, it was a bit grainy but that was zoomed right in... more than usable. Over all it looks like a good solid performer more than capable of producing some stunning images.There are a couple of tiny frustrating points I find with the camera... but I'll put them in my next comment

Hi guys, i've had my D800 1 week and i must say the D700 is already catching dust! I bought mainly for video but so far have done mostly stills. I'm a model photographer and the studio work from the D800 resolution is just outstanding. The comments on my work since swapping over confirm the difference vs. the D700 is noticeable. See some examples here - http://www.facebook.com/matthew.osbornephotography.1 or for more tech info here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/32681588@N03/7229281288/ and here showing the awesome croppping ability - www.flickr.com/photos/32681588@N03/7227307146/

I need help making sure my D800 is not defective. Because full crop is very bad.I tried three different lenses 24-70mm 2.4, 80-120mm f4.0 and second 24-70 f2.8 to make sure it is not the lens. I shot with different iso and numerous focal lengths . From a 10ft distance shot a book cover, not impressed at all..:(Called Nikon they asked me to put AF tuning on default and try, I did . Still the same, so they asked me to send it in.I want to make sure they aren't all like that..PlZ help

I am assuming you are shooting hand held. Have you tried the lens with manual focus. Also try the auto focus but shoot on a tripod. If this gives the same results then you can be reasonably sure it's the camera, if not it may be your shooting as with the extra megapixels you will have less tolerance for focus errors. I hope this helps

Hi,remember that you do not see the full resolution result on the videomonitor of your computer. Even a (normal) printer cannot give you the full result. If I want to see what the D800 did, I print it on a laserprinter at 600x600 pixels and use a crop of the picture. All prints look much better than what I see on the monitor.

To test you need a controlled environment with objects placed at different distances .. Draw a thick black line in the middle ... Get the line sharp through the view finder and see what you get ... I'm guessing you are using the viewfinder to focus and it's looking sharp to you there in which case testing with manual focus the same test will prove the focusing screen is out of place - so what you see through the viewfinder looks sharp but this isn't reflected in the outcome., get it into a shop in my opinion it's likely to be the latter.. I had it on a contax many moons ago - all my images coming back out of focus - yet I know they were sharp!!

Do not make the game of marketing. Used and exploited at the bottom of your equipment.A short review on previous posts. I think that the new 5D MKIII is really too expensive. Canon is crazy. I also think they missed the last product price. Nikon very aggressive with great foresight and innovation with D800. The D800 I think it's a great machine for photo studio that will steal the market for users of medium format. My 5D MKII has a problem with shooting button, but I think for safety at work will buy another 5D MKII now on offer in 1600 euros. Finally I am confident that many of my Nikon colleagues envy the quality, variety and prices of Canon lenses. One of my occasional collaborator uses a D700, but when we bring the work the agency does not know who took the photo ... ;-)

Yes well said. People get hung up on the pixel count or what ever the marketing gurus tell us is important but actually forget about the art of the image. Maybe some should spend less time on the computer and more time out in the real world taking photos. Welcome sarah80. The camera does not make the photographer but perhaps it makes the blogger... I look forward to more of your posts :)

I have fantastic photos from Europe done with a D90 and the resolution is extraordinary. Haven't ever made any 4x5' prints of them, but I'm pretty sure many would look great at that size. It is all in the technique! But I like the D800 for the capability of high resolution cropping!!

Hello everyone this is my first post on dpreview, I'm a professional italian photographer. I apologize for my English not very fair. I state that I use Canon equipment, namely 5d MKII, 40D with many lenses. The work I do fashion and weddings. I had access to Dpreview for information and curiosity about new product Nikon D800. I find it really funny and childish to read these posts with two armies lined up against each other.As a woman I must say I see this as a typical male attitude very angry and hostile and not very constructive.Instead of staying to fight and comment on what camera body is scientifically better, exits and photographed the world. Try for a moment to think about the kind of photos do you usually do. Do you think that buying a 5D MKIII or D800, your photos can be beautiful, or someone will notice?. ....NEXT

I'm not sure it's childish , more amateur ... Not putting anyone down, but Sara is right here

In my opinion a camera has to suit your needs - the Nikon vs Canon debate can go on forever but the point is once you are committed you are committed - if your not committed you shouldn't be considering buying this camera - you should take what you have and invest this money in a decent top end lens

it's not about paper specs - it's about if it's right for you at the time of purchase . My dying D300 , 150,000 shots in has served me fine for my needs.

As Sara says in essence - "it isn't what you have it's knowing what to do with it" recently I met a very respected architectural photographer still using a D70 -300,000 images in gloss finish ... But his images stunning ...

If I were you and a Nikon user go buy an old F3 , F4 . F80 , F100 or F5 .. Shoot E6 and a hand held meter , get it right every time ... Then your next digital images WILL be beautiful and you might get noticed ...

Interesting talk about the ISO comparisons. For 20 years I shot with an F4s, and used mostly asa100 film. 800 was last-resort stuff, and always looked rough, 1600 was the fastest mainstream film, and 3200 was the fastest commercial film produced - and you knew you were probably going to get a pointillist painting that looked more like colored golf balls.

How soon we forget all the fantastic images created without Five digit Iso equivalents.

An interesting article on cameralabs.com comparing the D800 and 5D3 and confirms in a real life situation what would be expected and what has been the general feedback on these cameras in relation to noise/performace at higher ISO settings - except of course if you only see a DXO score of course in which case you will begin seeing little trolls instead of noise elements.

"At 400 ISO though, those noise textures on the D800 have become a little more obvious..., the Canon is definitely cleaner at this point."

"With the sensitivity doubled to 800 ISO, the D800's noise textures are becoming increasingly apparent, while the Mark III is managing to keep them under control."

"At 1600 ISO, the noise has become more obvious on the D800"

"At 6400 ISO the gap widens as the D800 becomes very noisy viewed at 1:1, with edges becoming quite poorly defined. The Mark III certainly isn't noise-free at this point, but remains much cleaner and better-defined."

Also it concluded "So the decision between them on image quality should be influenced by the range of ISOs you typically shoot at. If you shoot mostly below 400 ISO and can use a tripod for most of your work, then you will enjoy a visible resolution benefit with the D800. But if you regularly shoot above 800 ISO and in particular in the 1600-6400 ISO range, then you'll prefer the cleaner output of the Mark III."

There are a series of interesting image samples for each camera at each ISO setting which is interesting. I would suggest that at ISO 400 the D800 is lagging behind the 5D3 which is what you would expect given the size of the pixels on the D800's sensor. The D800 is a good camera but it is far from a perfect camera. If you shoot in 'perfect' conditions - ISO 100 with either studio light or tripod use in landscapes then teh D800 is better than the 5D3. But in the 80% of other situation in the real world, it is less clear. So, a DXO score alone is not the full story

Haven't read this article and probably will not read, because I confirm what they say. I have a NiKon D3s and did with the D800 a series of photos to analyze the interest that she may have for me. The noise of the D800 is not so obvious, it is very good until at least ISO800, even with a high level of requirement. The noise exists in negligible quantity at ISO400 and 800. If I do not compare side by side with my other machine, even at ISO3200 the noise is very well treated, the loss of detail in textures due to the noise processing is easily visible, but still excellent. But the pictures have noise Yes. However, in ISO below 400 is a spectacular machine, with excellent dynamic range and with fabulously realistic textures. Photos better than the D3s without a doubt, but only with good light. It is a great temptation, given its price. By comparison with others inside and outside the brand has a very fair price, and will sell well because it is an excellent product.

When you look at 1:1 on D800 - did you downsize to the 22mp of the CanonEvidently notThen how can you compare like for like? View the 2 at the same effective distances ie at same 'magnification'The picture is what you should be looking at not the pixels - the pixels are a third smallerso if you want to compare then either up size the Canon or downsize the Nikon, otherwise what you are doing is completely pointless

At the same size the 2 cameras will be remarkably similar, the d800 will retain a slightly detail advantage but the DXO comparison can't be ignored as it's a scientific evaluation and your comparison is based on ignoranceAnd the edges of a sensor dont perform worse - that would be a function of the lensEssentially in real life with a multitude of lenses you'll see precious little difference between the 2 cameras but only because if you are looking at pictures all the cameras are superb now - but looking at pixels isn't looking at the output of a sensor is it?

Pity that not even this time that NiKon made the perfect machine. It seemed that this Nikon was such, with its high-resolution 36Mp and quality at high ISO D3s's near. But the pixels of the NiKon D800 are smaller, this is the only way to put so many, and this has a price. Up to ISO400 the NiKon D800 is peerless nowadays. It is a fact that nobody can deny. From this value, the advantages disappear, and above ISO800 other have better sensors, even if slightly. For who makes sports photography in low light conditions, the D800 isn't the best purchase. I fully agree with those who have already verified that the D800 is optimal up to ISO800 I would say, but I can't deny that from that point on, many are similar and some are better. I need to work at high ISO and the D800 isn't the best in this situation. And that is a scientific fact, which is easily confirmed in photos. There was still at this time that the best of both worlds met in one machine: high resolution and high ISO capabilities.

you make a good point. There is no perfect camera and certainly no perfect camera for everyone. I think that the truth is that both the D800 and the 5D3 are very good cameras and are clearly improvements on their respective predecessors (although in different ways) and BOTH manufacturers should be congratulated on two very fine cameras. Which one you choose would depend on a variety of factors including what and how you shoot and also your current lens investment.

One think that I would add - For my use and standards, the D800 at ISO 400 needs improving for noise let alone ISO800 and that is the main drawback on such a densely populated sensor (and why full frame is taking over from APS cropped sensors as time goes on).

What have pixels got to do with it?It's the sensor that captures the totality of light - however you divide up that sensor it will capture the same amount of light. Output the Canon and the D800 at the same size and you will see it's very similar, output the D800 at 30% more magnification (ie 1:1 then you will be definition see more detail / noise)The D700 has less noise per pixel but overall the D800 outperforms the D700. Why is it so difficult to explain to you people not to look at pixels if you want to compare across systems - or at least ensure that the comparison is done on the same basis for both cameras

"The new sensor featured in the D800 achieves the best dynamic range and the highest color sensitivity ever measured, taking the lead on the DxOMark scale with 95 points," explained Dr. Frédéric Guichard, DxO Labs’ Chief Scientific Officer. "This camera illustrates the consistent improvement that digital camera manufacturers have been able to achieve in the last few years, mimicking Moore’s law that has ruled the silicon industry for decades now.The Nikon D800 even surpasses the best medium-format cameras, which are priced more than 10 times higher!"

Sorry, Canon trolls, you have to accept this truth. The Nikon D800 is MUCH better than the Canon 5Dmk3. And the D800 costs even less money.

After rebutting the comments about about the D800 pixels being noisier I feel compelled to point out that the D800 is not head and shoulders above the Canon - at the same resolution they are remarkably similar in performance at the same outputAnd the Canon arguably has other advantages - I'd be happy with either brand and do not understand why people have to divide themselves into 2 camps - it's very childish

spoke to an avid Nikon pro shooter today who has been using the D800 quite extensively. His comments were a little mixed but in a positive way. To him the resolution and the ability to drill down and see detail was the biggest feature of the camera and he was very impressed. he was however unhappy with both the amount of noise and the rendition of colour. He thought the noise was a lot more than he had been told and that the colours were not up to standard. He stated that in these two areas he felt his D700 was better but it couldn't compete with the D800 in the image detail of course. He is a 'real world' photographer who does use higher ISOs, less than perfect light etc. The noise was less of an issue but he was not happy with the colours that the camera produced and this was his main concern.

I thought it an interesting observation from someone who has been shooting with the D800 since the first day it came out. he also has a D3 as well as the D700 and now the D800

@LensfairToday Canon is underdeveloped compared to Nikon! We are at the point where the sensors of NIKON are MUCH better than the sensors of Canon. Sure, Sony has contributed to the construction of these new Nikon-sensors, but it IS NOT IMPORTANT. What counts is to be aware of the superiority of this technology. The Nikon D800 is even less "noisy" than Canon 5Dmk3, despite the number of pixels. On DXO review, the Canon 5Dmk3, is surpassed by the Nikon D800 even at HIGH ISO! Only CANON SELLERS, say otherwise(of course).

The SCIENTIFIC truth: the D800, is the BEST sensor in the world(today), MUCH better than he sensor of the 5Dmk3.Color Depth: Nikon D800 better than Canon 5Dmk3!Dynamic Range: D800 better than 5Dmk3!Low-Light ISO: D800 better than 5Dmk3!Overall Score: D800 better than 5Dmk3!Price: Nikon better than Canon.(font: DXO sensors score)SORRY CANON, you want to sell your cameras. BUT BUYERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW THE TRUTH: the Nikon D800 is BETTER than the Canon 5Dmk3.

@Lensflair A friend of a cousin of the friend's sister's nephew of a friend of friends of two cousins of the brother of the nephew of the neighbor's grandmother's brother's uncle, says that.....................bla bla bla bla?

COME ON! Canon is experiencing a phenomenon in psychology called REGRESSION. Infantile regression. The strategy of canon is getting worse.Now for Canon are guaranteeing also friends of a cousin of the friend's sister's nephew of a friend of friends of two cousins of the brother of the nephew of the neighbor's grandmother's brother's uncle......?!!!!The revolution created by the Nikon D800 is not an OPINION.It's a scientific fact, MEASURABLE.We look at the scientific results of a sensor(repeatable results in a laboratory), we don't look at the propaganda of friends of friends of the cousins of the neighbors of some users who are paid from Canon.

NO! No. You are a too superficial person. I'm not sentimental. I don't have a favorite brand. I love science, technology and photography. I don't like corporations. I don't like multinationals. In fact, I tend to disregard these big companies, because in the name of profit, these company block the development of technology, the development of economy, science and research. we live in an imperfect world and I take note of that, I am aware of that. Maybe tomorrow the world will be better, now there is only one thing that I can do: see the positive in negative.I can only consider the so-called LESSER EVIL: see the truth, tell the truth about corporations and photography, science, technology.And the truth is that, today the NIKON D800 IS THE BEST SENSOR IN THE WORLD, a innovation-quality-price REVOLUTION, while the Canon 5Dmk3 is NOTHING NEW and NOTHING SPECIAL, of course unfavorable to buyers.The Nikon D800 is much better than the Canon 5Dmk3. NOT MY FAULT. NOT MY MERIT.

The pixels of the NiKon D800 are small, the only way to put as many on this sensor. And this has a price today. The DXO Labs shows that in his scientific analysis. For those who haven't experienced the machines, have at least to learn to read the chart information. Up to ISO400 the NiKon D800 is peerless nowadays. Thanks to NiKon. And this is a fact that nobody can deny. But DXO also tell us that from that value, the advantages disappear, and above ISO800 other NiKon and others, have better sensors, even if slightly. For who makes sports photography in low light conditions, the D800 isn't the best purchase. I fully agree with those who have already verified that the D800 is optimal up to ISO800 I would say, but I can't deny that from that point on, many are similar and some are better.Yes, and unfortunately, because I need to work at high ISO and the D800 is not ideal in this situation. And that is a scientific fact, which is easily confirmed in photos

So what?Unless you have shares in Canon why does this matter to you?Swings and roundabouts, wasn't very long since it was the other way around and probably the next iteration will see Canon have the 'better' specs and suddenly the warm glow you currently have from having a camera brand that is outselling a different camera brand will change to feeling bad about the camera you ave because a different camera maker suddenly sells more of their model

Did the excellent pictures we see from D90 D700 5Dii etc etc suddenly become worse because a new camera performs 'better' in some way or other?The fact that many users will actually find it more difficult to get sharper shots at pixel level should mitigate those claiming triumph of having greater MPIt's a tool to take pictures - if your pictures were rubbish before, they wont be any better now

When trolls talk about scores only they sink like the corupt Titanic. Only DXo trolls have no cast and auto focus when the truth is that you should only read internets scores and not shoot with a camera despite pixel lies from Nikon trolls. It should be talked about like madmen despite medication needed to get from A to B without need to actually use a camera that you as a troll ok Nikon have not used. You are a Nikon boy troll with less talk than Neanderthal. Don't live the Nikon marketing troll boy because all you type is marketing from the Internet like you prefer Internet sexuals to real sexuals with a real woman not Internet woman who has a score by Internet trolls that are under the bridge in secret. Time passes and you talking does not grow but sinks like troll titanic with Nikon marketing lies? You have 23456 words of troll stupid that translate to 0 sense. You are Neanderthal with autofocus that has been held back. Nikon troll boy

Lensflair, the truth is thar you don't like the score of Canon 5Dmk3. DXO did a SCIENTIFIC test.Nikon D800: 95 points.Canon 5Dmk3: just 81 points, only 2 points more than the old 5Dmk2(which comes from the year 2008).THE NIKON D800 IS OVERALL BETTER THAN CANON 5DMK3, EVEN AT ISO LEVEL. Even the Dynamic range of Nikon D800 is BETTER than the dynamic range of Canon 5Dmk3.The Nikon D800 is invincible.YOU DON'T LIKE IT, BUT THIS TEST SAYS THE TRUTH.YOU ARE PAID FROM CANON TO HIDE THE HUMILIATION SUFFERED FROM CANON 5DMK3.The 5Dmk3 have NO CHANCES against the Nikon D800.YOU ARE A CANON SANDWICH BOARD, YOU ARE PAID FROM CANON TO HIDE THE HUMILIATION SUFFERED FROM THE 5DMK3.The Canon 5Dmk3 is a SAD CLONING of the 5Dmk2, is a OLD DECADENT CAMERA which is NOT selling good.Because of that, here there are a lot of TROLLS of Canon, trolls like you.

Mister Lensflair, I have only 1 account and I speak about Cameras. You have a lot of accounts and speak about ME.That is the difference between a real USER like me and a TROLL of CANON like you.The Canon 5Dmk3 is a NEANDERTHAL CAMERA NEAR THE NIKON D800. YES.95 points of D800 Nikon against 81 points of 5Dmk3 Canon. Yes. The Canon 5Dmk3 is a NEANDERTHAL CAMERA NEAR THE NIKON D800. YES.Do you know how fast the digital technology evolves?The 5Dmk3 has the same technology of the 5Dmk2. The 5Dmk2 has 79 points and comes from the year 2008, the 5Dmk3 has 81 points. Those two points more, plus a new auto focus, are worth 3500 dollars?COME ON! Only a CANON-SELLER can defend the 5Dmk3.AND YOU ARE JUST THIS CANON-SELLER.

Adker1970 While I really am excited about getting a D800, the 5DIII has a lot of nice features and performance enhancements including finally getting a decent AF. All in all it looks like a good package except for one thing, for me it would be a deal killer; the 5DIII retained one "feature" of the 5DII that is unfortunately: artifacts and banding. Well, any another, overly aggressive NR that can't be turned off which makes high ISO images lack detail. That is probably by people with 5DII are not upgrading much, and price of course but Canon will soon start dropping the price like they did on the 60D when it was losing out to the D7000

Rambler1970 - no, what I actually have a problem with is your moronic rambling, bewildering assertions and lack of productive contribution to the forum. I only have one account and I am not paid by canon. I am a professional photographer who actually takes photos, uses cameras and looks very closely at what I shoot and what others shoot. I have the intelligence to look beyond one simpleton sensor score. At no stage have I said the D800 is not a good camera. You on the othe hand have not shown that you are a photographer, that you have even handled any of the cameras that you mention, have nothing positive to add to a comparison to any camera, speak absolute dribble, assume things about other posts that are not true and seriously should try to take your medication a lot more regularly than you currently have been. Enough of your dribble, contribute something constructive instead of being a total F$&?witt all the time. Is the D800 better than the 5D3? Nothing you have said has helped...

@LensflairIs the Nikon D800 better than the Canon 5Dmk3? YES! That is sure.The question is not... if the D800 is better than the 5Dmk3.SURE the Nikon D800 is much better than the 5Dmk3.The question is... if the 5Dmk3 is better than the 5Dmk2.Well, between the 5Dmk3 and the 5Dmk3 there are just 2 points by DXO scores. These 2 points are worth 3500 DOLLARS?I think...NOT!

The Nikon has made a revolution:1 low price2 best quality(really BEST, not just advertising)3 innovation(Ok, Sony helped Nikon, but I don't care)Maximum quality, maximum innovation, low price (for today's times). This is the Nikon D800. A revolution.

Canon has made just a shameless market strategy:minimum ordinary quality, low innovation, unacceptable unreasonably high price!

Is this bad strategy, NORMAL? NO! It is NOT NORMAL!And it should not become normal.

The Nikon D800 is still the BEST SELLING DSLR OVERALL AND ON AMAZON. The Canon 5Dmk3 is becoming a FLOP, a financial failure.For this reason, although the SCIENTIFIC results attest that the Nikon D800 is superior to all other Cameras and MUCH BETTER THAN THE Canon 5Dmk3, some sandwich-boards of Canon are invading our photos-forums to make disinformation.Canon is a company which offers no more guarantee OF QUALITY.Dear Canon trolls, no one believes your lies.I have explained why, and you do not want to understand.Those who spend between 2600 and 3500 euros, don't listen to your lies: THEY HEAR THE TRUTH! WHY?Nobody wants to throw away so much money. People earn money WORKING, breaking their bones under the weight of life. Nobody wants to throw away so much money. No one will spend $ 3500 for a cloned 5Dmk2.Although Canon calls this clone 5dmk3, that Camera remains the old 5Dmk2.Ie, THE 5DMK3 IS STILL THE 5DMK2, WITH JUST A BETTER AUTO FOCUS and only 1/2 STOP iso improvement

Despite this being a novelty 36Mp sensor in the FX system, some questions arise. Regardless of the values that the DXo Labs introduces for this sensor, this has its photodiods the size that is used in the DX sensors.It is clear that many of the limitations of smaller pixels were well resolved at this sensor, but the laws of physics do not eliminate, just surround. In low-light situations, the behavior of this sensor is identical to that of a DX machine.Thus, the Nikon D800 is designed to win the war of pixels and sell, gain more market share. This applies mainly to the amateur enthusiast. It is a beautiful machine, but it seems likely to belong to a new market niche in digital photography. Lovely surprise this from Nikon, but not so serious rival as it may seem to many professional photographers. It has its cons in terms of quality, in low light, and overall performance. But still leaves the bar very high. Hello Canon, reacts if you can.

The Nikon D800 is much BETTER than the Canon 5Dmark3 also in LOW-LIGHT ISO. There is NO field where the 5Dmk3 win. The PIXELS? Again this lamentation?DXO has measured the quality of pictures and consider only the sensor, NOT THE NUMBER OF PIXEL!Thanks to the pixels, or DESPITE the pixels, the Nikon D800 is better than the Canon 5Dmk3.Only CANON-TROLLS says the contrary.That means, of course, that Canon insists to say that the Canon 5Dmk3 is better.But it is a LIE. It is a big LIE. A lie of canon.A LIE OF THE SELLERS OF CANON.Of course, the Canon-sellers are desperate, and Canon are using so many TROLLS in various forums.But it is an objective fact: the Nikon D800 is MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN this old stupid DECADENT 5Dmk3.

I'm Nikonist since before it was invented the digital photography.I'll buy until the end of my days NiKon for my personal use.Still prefer many times my old Nikon, with its analog film. In quality scanners, I get in more than 60Mp of very good quality. When I want to print on paper, in large format, don't use my Nikon digital.Picks up the two machines, Nikon D800 and D3s, in both select the 6400ISO value or higher, does the same photo on both, with the same objective. Puts the files obtained side-by-side in a good professional monitor, compares the retained details of one and another, and see its digital noise. You will not find it difficult to distinguished, with advantage for the "little old lady D3s", although they are both good. This D800 machine is tremendously well developed, it is true, but it is to, a small step to the side, to the side of the DX format despite having a full frame sensor. Is the price to pay to reach 36 Mp in this format.

@FranciscoDear francisco, digital photography is a newborn compared with analog photography.If the digital world does not grow, this world remains a dwarf.Today the digital world has achieved good results and has BENEFITS. For example you don't have to buy a photographic film, but a 32 gigabytes memory card. You can take 10.000 photos. You can have fun with POST PRODUCTION.Of course it is important that the technology go ahead.For this reason I defend the Nikon D800, and I'm hard CRITICAL of the Canon 5Dmk3: the sensor technology of the Nikon D800 is the best contemporary technology(as said also by OXD).Canon does not want and can not grow more. If time passes and Canon does not grow, Canon remains a dwarf.Canon lives only from advertising, as an old artist who produces nothing good but only sells the signature under the scribbles-painting.

I think, the BEST sensor, in the FUTURE, will be a Foveon-sensor, NOT A BAYER SENSOR. I hope that Nikon buys the Foveon-sensor.

Foveon sensors? Possibly.The future in digital photography is increased dynamic range, increased image definition, low noise at high ISO with less NR procedure, low cost of production, low power consumption, high rates of data transfer. Eventually more pixels, even no one knows for what.Foveon technology will respond to all these requirements?Let's see: 1-Bayer sensors are mosaic-based image, they only capture one-third of the color, and processing is required to interpolate the color they miss; 2-Interpolation leads to color artifacts and a loss of image detail; 3-Blur filters are used to reduce color artifacts, reducing sharpness and resolution.OK. Foveon is a new world, eliminating step 1 and 2, no more blur filters. They catch the three colors of most logical way, reducing processing to. Foveon improves the image definition, high rates of data transfer and low power consumption. But will it be enough to win the CMOS sensors?

@FranciscoJG Everything depends on the investment and the will to develop the Foveon sensor.Unfortunately we live in the middle of capitalism, even if this capitalism is decadent(see Crisis of the West):This means that the capitalistic company will squeeze and exploit the bayer sensor as a lemon, before adopting the Foveon sensor. This means also that, not being a lobby group, the Foveon sensor will be used ONLY when the bayer-sensor has reached its limit.THE MULTINATIONAL GIVES YOU THE INNOVATION WITH THE DROPPER, WITH A PIPETTE, because their goal is always the same goal: to sell and resell to you everything, every three or four years.

As a Canon user for many years, I have to admit that Nikon has come up with very good new products recently. The D800/D800E is one of those, the image quality is excellent and not one of the existing D-SLR currently on the market is able to touch it in term of resolving power. I have been considering the 5D Mark3 but I am hesitating to throw 3.5K into a product which seems "Deja Vu" without real substantial improvement compared to the Mark 2. I have invested too much in Canon lenses and jumping ship will cost way too much but I am contemplating slowly to acquire Nikon gears as well around a D800/D800E body. I own a Canon 1Ds Mk3 and 9 Canon and Zeiss lenses, right now I love my camera and I am looking for a second lighter body. I think that Canon has been concentrating too much on Video users for the past 3 years or so, forgetting customers interested in pictures NOT videos.I am interested in image quality and I do believe the D800 delivers plenty more right now.

Sorry, ScottRH, but if you want shoot something moving fast, you need a good technique, not many shots per second. You must know how to use the diaphragm, lenses, ISO, and you have to know even how to hold a camera in hand (see photos FORMULA 1).The sensor of the Nikon D800 has achieved a great Sport score (alias Low-Light ISO score): 2853 iso! BETTER THAN THE Canon 5DMK3(which has only 2293 usable iso, alias Low-Light ISO score )! But that is normal, the D800 has 36 MP, a lot of more pixels than the other 2 Nikon.The Nikon D800 is ranked as the first, THE BEST SENSOR! In sport the Nikon D800 is in third place. NIKON D3s and Nikon D4 are in the first and second place.D800 is BETTER THAN CANON 5DMK3! In the ranking, the 5Dmk3 is ONLY in the 10 th place.No camera excels in every field. And that is good.Remember: Who knows how to do "EVERYTHING", cannot do "ANYTHING". Everything and nothing, are two extremes which are touching each other.D800 better than 5Dmk3, also in SPORT.

Of course, in Sport, the NIKON D4, which costs like a CAR and has less pixels, is a bit better than the D800.However, the Nikon D800 BEATS the Canon 5Dmk3 also in sports(Low-Light ISO score: 2853 iso vs 2293 iso).Obviously, in a serious conversation you can not expect that the Nikon D800 win in everything, even against the Nikon D4.If it were so, who would buy the D4? No one.What seems clear is that Nikon has chosen a new global strategy to avoid cannibalism between cameras:Nikon builds good cameras for different NEEDS, while Canon insists on building different camera-handicap for different CASTES.RESULT: Nikon beats Canon in all categories.

Where exactly did you read in the OP comment anything about a comparison to any other camera, much less the 5DmkIII..??

As you have yet again chosen to go on one of your fanboy rants, lacking in any technical data other than DxO scores, and touting the D800 as the best sensor in the world - you need to compare the actual sensor, not post processed results.

This is not to make a comparison to the 5DmkIII however as you have chosen that camera, without provocation, for your rant - how about you look at the physical sensor scores.In that type of comparison (pixel level capabilities of the sensor) the D800 <actually> ranks below the 5DmkIII in most categories. Only better at a few ISO setting and worse throughout the range the cameras are designed to operate at.You can see the pixel level test results by selecting the [Screen] tab when viewing the test results btw.

Again, not defending one camera over another, the delta between the higher-end cameras cannot be seen by the human eye..

You should accept the truth with dignity.The comparison between Cameras is physiologic in website like this. You can NOT make comparison only when it is convenient to you. I already explained this axiom: DON'T SPIT ON FOOD.Comparisons are the food of websites like this.You can NOT make comparison only when it is convenient to you.

I am not making the comparison - you are - and at great boring lengths..I really do not care which scores best or worst - unlike you, I do not believe the camera with the highest score produces the best results.Being a photographer for over 30years I will put my vision, observation, composure, and understanding of light and shadow up against you and any camera on the planet..The point I addressed was your rambling of the best sensor in the world, when in actuality the SENSOR itself is not better than everything else at the sensor level. All DxO scores (those used to rank) are based on the a processed 8mp image sample.There is not enough room to explain this to someone of your understanding - but simply put, the 8mp image is roughly a 78% compression for the D800 (pixel binning) which in order to be fair that would mean comparing it to a ~5mp processed image from the 5DmkIII - given how close the two are now, you would probably see the 5D ahead when measured at the same compression.

--Just so you do not continue to sound like an ignorant fanboy, I really suggest you learn how to read the DxO scoring system so you do not make statements that do little more than show how little you know.

Again, I do not personally care which has the higher score, but you apparently do so it may be of interest to you.Select the D800, and select the 5DmkIII, select to compare their scores, then on each category make sure to select the {SCREEN} results which are the physical sensor (pixel level) and you will be surprised how well the 5DmkII ranks against your dream D800 - you might even notice that the D800 scores lower than the 5DmkIII in most results except for one or two ISO settings..If you are truly after the best sensor out there, then you are certainly looking for one that performs to those expectations at more than (one) ISO setting. If not, then enjoy your D800 or whatever it is you buy - and stfu.

You, CANON-TROLL, HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS TRUTH! The scientific test from DxOMark are most reliable, objective, manufacturer-independent source of image quality, the professional photographers trust 100% in DXO TESTS.The Nikon D800 is MUCH BETTER than the Canon 5Dmk3.You, CANON-TROLL, HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS TRUTH!

If A is better than B, and B better than C, how can be C better than A?IMPOSSIBLE! A, better than B, is also better than C, because C is worse than B!Practice translation:

If NikonD800 is better than the Phase One, and the Phase One is better than Canon5Dmk3, how can be Canon5Dmk3 better than Nikon?IMPOSSIBLE!

Actually Nikon D800 is the best camera in the world. Canon has to accept this.The world of serious photography community, has already recognized this reality.If Canon continues to pretend to believe that the 5Dmk3 is the best camera, Canon will make the world laugh.Canon is losing his dignity. Be CAREFUL, Canon! You can lose against Nikon, it is NOT a shame, because Nikon is a BIG NAME in the world of photography. But if you lose your dignity, really you lose everything.Canon is becoming embarrassingly pathetic.

I have no preference, though I think Nikon is, overall better. For the best possible quality (without all the bells and whistles,) please consider the 46mp Sigma cameras. I have the latest DP1 and 2 as well as an SD15.

Both the Nikon and Canon use the Bayer color filter system and anti-alias (blurring) screen. The 36 mp layout has 50% green 25% red and 25% blue. The missing red and green information must be interpolated (guessed). The 46 mp Sigma Foveon provides full color information at each (larger) pixel without loss by filters or algorithmic estimations. The Sigma is dedicated to producing suburb still photography.

The Nikon is certainly a marvel, but its physical limitations limit rendition of images. Note that there are to types of movie sensor systems. One is like the old Technicolor system the uses three sensors and a color separation system. which provides quality similar to the Foveon and produces color like color film. The other uses the faster Bayer system.

YES, you are right 100%!it is possible that in the future, Sigma and Sony will make the best cameras in the world. I like the VISION of Sigma. And I like the technological bold character of Sony.Perhaps the duopoly of the future will be Sigma / Sony?Nikon builds excellent lenses, for cameras and microscopes, photographic objectives excellent as those of Zeiss.And Nikon is a GUARANTEE, a philosophy of life, an unsurpassed corporate identity.But in this Nikon D800 there is a sensor which has the DNA of Sony. So in the future Sony and Sigma might be the queens of DSLR photography.And, YES, you are right 100%, one thing must be clear:IMAGES, OBTAINED WITHOUT INTERPOLATION, ARE ALWAYS THE BEST IMAGES.For this reason:1: The 36MP of Nikon are better than the 22 MP of Canon.2: The sensor Foveon of Sigma will be the best sensor, better than any Bayer sensor!

Ya without interpolation is the key. This fact is hidden why? But I am told by most photographers that in the end the picture quality of a Canon Mark III is way better even if lesser MPs. I have been a constant Nikon guy. But once bought a Canon G12 and most impressed with that camera. I am debating to go for Nikon D800E or Canon D5 MarkIII. Will someone really tell me which is the better. Can't go for both.

Forget the Canon 5Dmark3, that camera is born old.The 5Dmk3 is like a new dress made with a old ruined stuff, old rags. The Nikon D800 is much better than the Canon 5Dmk3: better color, better dynamic range, better Low-Light ISO(2853 ISO from Nikon D800 against 2293 ISO from 5Dmk3, as said by OXO sensors scores rating). The 5Dmk3 is an abortion, is a misshapen creature of Market Strategy, is the OLD 5Dmk2 + a better auto-focus. Canon has done a big mistake, a big error. TO ADMIT TO HAVING MADE AN ERROR, IS THE FIRST STEP TO FIX WHAT WAS BROKEN: REPUTATION, THE TRUST AND THE MARKET. Canon has tried to recycle the old 5Dmk2. Fatal error. This old rewarmed soup costs $ 3500. If canon does not admit itself, humbly, that the 5Dmk3 is a market mistake, a Frankenstein's monster of wrong marketing strategy, Canon will ends like the Titanic. Today the competition is VERY LARGE and crowded. Those who make mistakes, pay bitterly.The 5Dmk3, in reality is a Camera of the year 2008!

Cadri, I would demo both if you are unsure, see the results for yourself. If you have Nikon lenses, then changing to canon will be a big step if you cant use your old glass. There is nothing like using each camera for a day or so and then print out the images and see the results for yourself. It also depends what you want each camera for. I would suggest that the D800 is good in more of a controlled environment and the 5D3 better out in teh real world. either way you should be happy.

Adler, how can you say the 5D3 is just a 5D2 with better auto focus? you dont knwo your facts and again you show your lack of understanding.

Go to techradar.com and see the camera performance between the 5D2 and 5D3 and tell me why if they are the same camera how can the 5D3 perform significantly better than its predecessor? Tell me that!

You are just thinking that it has the same MP so there is no improvement - you couldn't be more wrong. support your disheveled ramblings with facts and figures. The 5D2 revolutionized that segment of the market and really had to make Nikon rethink. Canon have refined and improved an already great camera. You cant see that because YOU HAVE NOT EVEN SHOT WITH BOTH CAMERAS so you dont know.

@Lensflair People like you, without a critical sense, does not help Canon , but contributes to DESTROY this company.This 5Dmk3 is only a marketing strategy totally wrong.The auto focus? It is the minimum on a professional body. You had to expect a good auto focus already in the year 2008.But canon takes away the rights of an auto focus, to resell IT slowly, WITH THE DROPPER.You're not making a serious talk. You're talking like a canon-boy, as the follower of the Sect of CANON, as one who has been brainwashed.The 5Dmk3 is not an innovation, is not a game-changing.The 5Dmk3 is the OLD 5Dmk2, finally equipped with an auto focus.Don't underestimate the PEOPLE. People are not stupid. Ok, maybe the canon-boys are stupid. But you can not expect a UNIVERSAL stupidity. Not all users of Canon are canon-boys.Canon is making inexcusable mistakes. People like you, without a critical sense, does not help Canon , but contributes to DESTROY this company.

you my fine fool are the one that lacks critical sense. All you talk about is a lot of fluff, a sensor score number an nothing else of substance. GO BEYOND THE SCORES AND LOOK IN DETAIL AT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. Critical sense is looking at the details, something YOU HAVE NOT DONE. Stop carrying on and rambling on and on and on and actually provide some objective analysis

I would like to know the following from you, simple yes and no will be fine...1) Have you used the 5D2 auto focus?2) Have you used the 5D3 auto focus?3) What conclusions can you draw from this "hands on" comparison?

@LensflairI used many cameras, and I edit ALL cameras-files, because.... Photos and PRINT are MY JOB. Yes, you are a canon-boy. You are not neutral. You are just sentimental canon-boy. The TRUTH is that the Nikon D800 is the best sensor in the world. The Canon 5Dmark3 is just rough and PRIMITIVE near the Nikon D800.

May be you are projecting on Canon...your Daddy, your mother, your religion, or your Land. But it is just a tool, an instrument, and as instrument...the Canon 5Dmk3 is very STUPID near the Nikon D800.The Canon 5Dmk3 is a a Neanderthal-camera, the Nikon D800 is a Camera "homo sapiens sapiens". Actually the Nikon D800 is the best DSLR in the world.ONLY A CANON-SELLER, CAN BE SO SHAMELESSLY TO SAY THAT THE 5DMK3 IS A GOOD COMPETITOR CAMERA.In reality the Nikon D800 KILLS the Canon 5dmk3 and competes with a MF camera as the PHASE ONE.

Nothing wrong with Neanderthal. They have lived for 20.000 years. But they disappeared and today there is the homo sapiens sapiens.The Canon 5Dmk3 is a Neanderthal Camera, the Nikon D800 is a Camera sapiens sapiens.The Nikon D800 is the EVOLUTION. The 5Dmk3 is an archaeological find, is the same old 5Dmk2, NOTHING new. From 2008 to 2012 Canon has not evolved at all.

People, we have to speak about SENSORS scores, about QUALITY, about evolution of cameras, about revolution of cameras. About comparisons. We have to speak abut all this staff.Unless you want to close websites like this. Do you like sites like this? Do you like sites like dpreview? Websites like this site, live by eating reviews, COMPARISONS, criticism, news, article of technology. So, don't SPIT on FOOD. Comparisons are the food of these websites.And if the Nikon D800 has 95 points, while the Canon 5Dmk3 has only 81 points, it is not my fault. Think about it.

Here the followers of canon are angry with me, because I speak a simple truth, and that is that the king is naked. The King canon is naked. You know the story of the naked king? Nobody had the courage to tell the truth openly. But the king was naked. Now the truth is that the Nikon D800 is better than the Canon 5Dmark3. It's not my fault. It is thanks to Nikon, it's not my fault.

To highlight my allegiances, I have a 5D2 (only because I have canon glass and not Nikon glass and don’t see the point in changing) and a Blad H4D-40 and I have always thought that Nikon and Canon are both very good camera manufactures. Both the 5D3 and D800 are good cameras that tackle things a little differently and have pros and cons. If pixel count is important and you have a lot of disc space and idle RAM in your desktop then get the D800. If file size, speed and noise is more important then get the 5D3. Either way 99% of people who have ranted and raved on this post wont see a difference in the photos at all. And too be honest I think the 5D3 is a more usable camera overall for 98% of amateurs - and pros will go the D4 without regrets.

Oh, and lastly, I have never had a problem with the auto focus on the 5D2 (except in sports situations) and don’t see the point of face detection and other gimmicks – they are designed for people who don’t know how to shoot properly.

If you like both, the Nikon and the Canon, so why are you afraid of the comparison? For you it is a taboo to say that the NIKON D800 is better than the Canon 5Dmk3?Stop TABOOS.Today the Nikon D800 is better than the Canon 5Dmark3. MUCH BETTER. Nikon D800 has the best sensor of the world.Maybe tomorrow, Canon will make a great camera, with a good sensor. And I, I will be happy to speak good of Canon. But today is not so. Today the 5dmark3 is NOT so good as the Nikon D800.Canon even has admitted that the 5D mk3 has some technical problems. The 5Dmark3 is only business and marketing, nothing really new. This must be said too, without taboos.

I am not afraid of a comparison, in fact I think that the more comparisons we see above a very limited 95 vs 81 arbitrary score is important. compare based on output and final image quality not on some score that DOES NOT give a true reflection of image quality or camera performance. I could be as short sighted as yourself and say that the Canon is better than the Nikon purely because it shoots at a higher frames per second than the Nikon does. My number is bigger than yours so mine must be better? how silly is that? that is what you have been doing.

Again, go and test the D800 and the 5D3 yourself and in the real world and then come back and tell us what you have found.

@LensflairPlease, accept the reality, with dignity. By now it is official: Nikon D800 produces better quality-images than the 5Dmk3. This is not a conspiracy, but it is SCIENCE.The measurement of DXO (sensor scores rating), regards THE IMAGE QUALITY, NOT THE SENTIMENTAL EVALUATION, OR EMOTIONAL EVALUATION of a SENSOR.The measurement done by DXO has IGNORED even the number of pixels. They considered only the QUALITY OF THE PICTURES.Sorry, but Nikon D800 is scientifically better than Canon 5Dmk3.Only a sad decadent Canon-boy can ignore this evidence.Nikon D800 is a revolution. Canon 5Dmk3 is NOTHING.You pretend that you did not understand! The Nikon D800 is better than the 5Dmk3, but also better than the MEDIUM FORMAT PHASE ONE!This is even not only about to compare just two FF cameras! HERE WE HAVE THE FF NIKON D800 WHICH IS EVEN BETTER THAN A VERY EXPENSIVE MF CAMERA CALLED PHASE ONE!Accept the reality, with dignity.

Coreection, DXO consider the results of teh sensor, not the final image output which becomes more subjective, something they can not measure. They also measure a "best Case" not the performance in aninfinite number of real world situations. They quote "DxOMark does not address such other important criteria as image signal processing, mechanical robustness, ease of use, flexibility, optics quality, value for money, etc. While RAW sensor performance is critically important, it is not the only factor that should be taken into consideration when choosing a digital camera"

Again, Answer the following1) Have YOU used a medium format Phase 1?2) Have YOU used a Phase and D800 to take the exact same photo and compared the two?3) What cameras have YOU used, how much photography experience do YOU have?

Stop this stupid pathetic advertising of Canon.CANON HAS NO DIGNITY?CANON NEED TO BEGGING CONSENTS, HERE?WHY CANON NEED SO MANY TROLLS?All sane and honest people can see that the Nikon D800 is MUCH better than the Canon 5Dmk3.Try to understand that: the Nikon D800 is in the league of a MF camera like PHASE ONE, not in the low-league of the 5Dmk3.ACCEPT THE TRUTH WITH DIGNITY.HOW CAN THE CANON 5DMK3, COMPETE WITH THE NIKON D800, IF THE 5DMK3 CAN NEVER COMPETE WITH THE MF PHASE ONE?Stop propaganda, CANON!If A(nikon) is better than B(phase one), and B(phase one) better than C(canon), how can be C(Canon) better than A(nikon)?IMPOSSIBLE, CANON BOY! IMPOSSIBLE, CANON BOY!It is NOT an intelligent attitude, to ask the impossible, CANON BOY!.

I have read couple of your comments over the last few weeks and decided to register to tell you that you are mad Adler.Im not going to say which camera is better because i think both are great, im going to say that you had better to go to doctor. I really mean this.

4) Which ever camera is the best seller on Amazon is a totally stupid argument for which one is technically better5) I wouldn’t put too much faith in DXO either. You are getting a small insight into a larger picture and can be very misleading. Of course if you don’t really know about sensors you will throw around scores as though that says it all.6) “If you need higher fps then get a video camera” come on get real. There are lots of people that need high frame rates – sports photographers put your hand up.

My advice would be for those out there go and hire a 5D3 and a D800 and compare them in the real world instead of just talking crap. I think you will find it hard to split these two very good cameras once you get past the marketing hype of my sensor has more of those pixel thingos than your camera so it must be better???

Come on! You mean, that Canon has not noticed that the Nikon D800 is the best selling digital reflex Camera?COME ON!DXO? It is the BEST independent Sensors scores rating agency.What you don't have to take seriously, is the ADVERTISING OF CANON. It is natural that Canon will never admit the limits of the 5Dmk3. It is natural that Canon will never admit that the 5Dmark3 it the old 5dmk2 plus an auto focus.But you should take serious the Dxo scores ratings.YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IF YOU BUY THE 5DMK3, YOU BUY 81 POINTS-SENSOR, AS TOLD BY DXO.AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IF YOU BUY THE NIKON D800, YOU BUY 95 POINTS-SENSOR, the best sensor in the world, AS TOLD BY DXO.

DXO gives a limited insight into a sensor but is only a guide and its score that you seem so focused on only tells part of the picture.

If you look at performance graphs on techradar.com, look into the actual test results on DXO, not just the score that you wet your pants over, you will see there is more to the two cameras then some arbitrary scoring process. each camera outperforms the other in "tests" in different shooting scenarios. If you look at the two sensors in real world shooting situations (That means go and use the cameras in the field before you rant and rave) you will see that these two cameras are actually a lot closer than the MP count would suggest.

The final say is on the quality of the image that you get at the end of the process and there is not much difference between the two cameras. you cant see that. you are obsessed with a score you have seen on the net and don't really see anything else.

@LensflairSorry, but the D800 does not have to prove anything more. THE NIKON D800 HAS ALREADY PROVED TO BE BETTER THAN CANON 5Dmk3 and even better than the Phase one.The sensors rating agencies can do the test 1000 times, the result will be the same: the D800 is the best camera TODAY.The measurement done by DXO has IGNORED the number of pixels. They considered only the QUALITY OF THE PICTURES.Sorry for you, but with all this comments and posts, Canon will NOT improve the quality of the 5Dmk3.If you want to improve the quality of Canon 5Dmk3, you have to CHANGE THE SENSOR of that camera. The 5Dmk3 is the old 5Dmk2! How could compete with the Nikon D800? IMPOSSIBLE!The 5Dmk3 is an ERROR of the marketing strategy of Canon. It is already clear that the Canon 5Dmk3 cannot sell as expected.People are not stupid. Canon has underestimated the intelligence of the people.If Canon does not become aware of this, will end like the Titanic.

The question is simple, we are confronted with a quantum leap of Nikon, and with ...again a conservative but decadent marketing strategy of Canon:

NIKON HAS OFFERED THE MAXIMUM(the best sensor in the world, 95 points), AND ASKED THE MINIMUM, A GOOD PRICE FOR THE BUYERS.CANON HAS OFFERED THE MINIMUM, A NEW AUTO FOCUS(and a sensor which has gone from 79 to 81 points). AND ASKED THE MAXIMUM, A BAD HORRIBLE PRICE FOR THE BUYERS.

Who is the naive buyer who spends THE MAXIMUM(the most money) to buy THE MINIMUM?

The D800 might not in your words have anything to prove but with your tirade of ramblings rubishing Canon and Phase I would suggest that you do have something to prove. I am sure many on this forum would like to know if you are just a run of the mill nut job or is you actually know something apart from ONE thing yo have read on the net. So...1) Have you used the 5D2, 5D3 and D8002) What camera system do you OWN - body and lenses?Have you personally compared the D800 against the 5D3 and the Phase1 of even the Blad H4D (which does not appear on DXOmark)?3) can you contribute anything of analytical value to the debate between the two cameras? so far you have contributed NOTHING of analytical value apart from a DIATRIBE of obtuse, incoherent ramblings of a madman...PLEASE show us that you have something more to contribute. PLEASE try to appear intelligent and informed. I challenge you to do this.

You have just NO DIGNITY, CANON-BOY!We are not speaking of the invisible, or of the supernatural, or about UFOs. We speak about VISIBLE MEASURABLE QUALITY OF PHOTOS, OF DYNAMIC RANGE, OF BITS, OF NOICE! The Nikon D800 is much better than the Canon 5Dmk3, if you want a evidence, look at the SCIENTIFIC results of the research done by DXO sensors score rating, the BEST reference! The evaluation made by DXOmark, is the Nobel Prize of the cameras. NO ADVERTISING OF NIKON OR CANON, BUT A REAL EVALUATION.SENSOR SCORE: NIKON D800: 95 POINTS!CANON 5DmkIII: just 81 POINTS!t's not my fault. It is not my doing. IT IS THE REALITY: ACCEPT THIS REALITY. The Nikon D800 is much better. ACCEPT THIS REALITY with DIGNITY, Canon-boy!

In reality, Nikon and Canon both make very good cameras. Both have pros and cons but either way you will get good images from either camera. There is a reason that there is a difference in fps between the cameras and is mainly due to the image size difference and highlights that it is important to look at the whole package including processor, lenses etc.

In relation to a few previous posts I think the following is probably more accurate.1) you will notice a big burden in processing because of the 36MP especially if you shoot in RAW. It is surprising how much hard drive space is taken up and how quickly you run out of room.2) The smaller the pixel pitch the more the noise – that is a fact. There is a reason why most medium format cameras have around 6um and canon seem to be sticking to that on their 35mm sensors.3) Most lenses will not be able to exploit the increased Mp of the D800 chip, especially if you use pro-sumer lenses instead of more expensive pro lenses.

STOP POPULISM! The Nikon D800 have a FF sensor! 36 MP are not a problem on a FF(FULL FORMAT) sensor. To see a diffraction at F 5.6 on a FF sensor, you must have 200 MP on that sensor! These 36 MP of Nikon are NOT a problem.The scores of the Nikon D800' sensor is the BEST in the world.The Nikon D800 is famous because give the BEST PHOTOS QUALITY IN THE WORLD, even better than a MF Camera like "PHASE ONE"(which costs a lot of money)!So the problem of density of the sensor is a LIE!JUST PROPAGANDA OF CANON!

You still cant see the difference between an arbitrary sensor score and image quality. Have you ever shot on a Phase or Blad - Obviously not. I would also say that you haven't even picked up the D800 or the 5D3 (or even the 5D2) for that matter. Go and test outcomes for yourself and contribute something positive to the knowledge base on these cameras instead of carrying on and showing how short sighted you are with each post you make.

Pixel density issues are real. Look at the noise you get on point and shoot sensors as an example.

@LensflairYou continue to talk nonsense. Realize finally, that DXO has scientifically examined the image quality, not the number of pixels.THE QUALITY OF PHOTOS! The Nikon D800 takes BETTER Photos than Canon 5Dmk3!All of this translated into a bureaucratic language, it means that the D800 has a better sensor than the 5Dmk3.Pixel density issues are real...if you have 200 MP on a FF sensor. NOT IF YOU HAVE just 36MP on a FF sensor.The sensor of the Nikon D800 is objectively and scientifically BETTER than the sensor of the 5Dmk3."Thanks" to the pixels. or "despite" the pixels. But one thing is sure: the sensor of the Nikon D800 is objectively and scientifically BETTER than the sensor of the 5Dmk3. In fact, the D800 snaps the BEST photos. Even better than a MF like PHASE ONE. Sorry, Canon, but truth is truth.

Second on first glance the D800 appears to be a huge technical leap because it is 36MP on a full frame sensor. But as many have pointed out on the forum, pixel density is comparable with cropped sensors such as the 7D. So in reality from a pixel density point of view it is more of a huge marketing leap that will appeal to those who don’t really understand sensors and think that the bigger the number the better. Thirdly I don’t think Canon have been left behind, but rather they have chosen a different path that in reality you cant say is better or worse than Nikon, it is just different. Canon appears to value sensitivity and noise over shear pixel count on their full frame sensors. Fourth, I would suggest that the majority of people would not notice a real difference in an image from the D800 vs the 5D3.

Dxo has NOT talked about the density or resolution of the sensor.You can think 2 think:1: that the D800's sensor is the best sensor of the world THANKS to the number of pixels.2: that the D800's sensor is the best sensor of the world DESPITE the number of pixels.DXO has not taken pixels into account. Dxo referred only about the final quality of the pictures, and said that the Nikon D800's sensor is a SENSOR WITHOUT WEAKNESSES, precisely..... the best sensor in the world!

When DXO take a score they take it at one point of a sensors range. To give a score they have to be arbitrary, and that is what you have to get through your head, it is arbitrary, not definitive.

Take a car for example, one has 400HP, one has 350HP, which is best? you have to look at the whole package, how it drives, how it transfers power, how it handles, build quality, price etc. in the end you have to assess the driving experience. I suggest you take the same approach. ONE ARBITRARY NUMBER DOES NOT REFLECT THE WHOLE STORY.

ASLO, DXO does not judge "the final quality of the pictures" as you allude to, it rates a range of sensor attributes.

Dxo is considering only "the final quality of the pictures". The FINAL result is what counts. Because of that, "the Sensor of the Nikon D800 is the BEST in the WORLD and it is WITHOUT WEAK POINTS"(Dxo words). It is not the best sensor because is a SEXY sensor. It is the best sensor because takes the BEST PHOTOS! Even better than a MF like Phase One. Of course you have to use professional lenses, not the bottom of a glass bottle.BUT THIS DISCOURSE, IS VALID ALSO FOR CANON.

If canon had the 36MP body you'd argue to the death that 36MP was good and the bigger the better. You are evidently hurt that canon have not really delivered what you wanted, why the heck else would you be posting on a D800 user thread if you are a canon fanboy wouldn't you stick to canon? Why are you here, come on tell us? The canon sensor has only 11.2 stops of DR compared to 14.4 for the Nikon, the portrait bit depth is poor compared to the D800, etc etc the canon sensor is a weak update with autofocus as the 5d was a manual focus camera, wasn't it ;-) What is funny is people are taking your troll bait on here, it's evident what you are and why you are here. Go outside and get some sunshine mate. Get a life more to the point!

Raw Signal to Noise Ratio – Again on Techradar it is pretty clear that the 5D3 is clearly ahead of the D800 and pretty much on par with the D4 up to ISO1600 before pulling ahead. The 5D2 actually performs better than the D800 past ISO1600. For those on the forum who don’t understand sensors, this is exactly what you would expect. The more pixels that you cram onto a sensor the higher the noise you will get. You are looking at a pixel pitch of 6.07um in the Canon vs 4.7um in the Nikon.

So what can we take from all this? First I think it is very ignorant to suggest that the mark 3 is just a mark 2 with a better auto focus. It is not. It appears to be a vast improvement over the old model and a better package overall.

Seems to me that there is a lot of hot air getting blown around by people that haven’t gotten their hands on any of the cameras in question are just blowing a trumpet because they like canon or Nikon, and if they were honest have hardly even used the “other” brand of camera in their lives.

I think most people are caught up on a numbers game or only look at one aspect of a comparison between the D800 and 5D III.

When you have a closer look at the pro’s and con’s of each it is actually pretty close. So the real FACTS are as follows

Dynamic Range – This can vary across various test sites. If you look at techradar.com and look at the RAW DR, it is pretty clear that there is not a huge difference between the D800 and 5D3 and past ISO 800 the 5D3 is actually better than the D800. The 5D3 is a significant improvement over the 5D2.

No, it is not like that. If the Nikon D800 is BETTER than the Canon 5Dmark3, every serious independent websites must speak about that. And, the Nikon D800 IS MUCH BETTER than the Canon 5Dmark3. Of course for same people, also the 5Dmark3 can be enough.But we have to speak about the SENSORS scores. About QUALITY, about evolution of cameras. About comparision. We have to speak abut all this staff.Unless you want to close websites like this. Do you like sites like this? Do you like sites like dpreview? Websites like this site, LIVE on reviews, COMPARISONS, criticism, news, article of technology. So, don't SPIT on FOOD. Comparisons are the food of these websites.The Nikon D800 is better than the 5Dmark3.Want more? The Canon 5Dmk3 has some technical problems! Canon has just announced: unfortunately, the LCD light affecting the meter in low-light environments. This is a PHYSICAL problem, not the firmware.

@LensflairSites like this are important because, when a camera like the 5Dmk3 is artificially heightened, some serious people dismantles the lies and protests against the companies like Canon. Without websites like this, we would read only the stupid advertising of Canon. But the advertising is not a serious matter. It's serious the assertion of a seller? Of course, Canon will say that their cameras are the best. OF COURSE, CANON PAYS MANY TROLLS TO EMPHASIZE CANON-CAMERAS. The advertising is LIES.The CANON-TROLLS, LIE. The trolls are part of the sad failed market strategy of Canon.The Canon 5Dmk3 is really the same old 5dmk2, which was created in the year 2008, + a better auto focus(nothing else). The rest is, in fact, lie, advertising, marketing.Canon is making a LOT of mistakes and could end like the Titanic. The canon-boys are not a help, but they are a problem, because they are slavish but no real friends. True friends don't hide the truth.

@LensflairYou are just a Canon-seller. What you said does not makes sense.You are a sad canon-follower who is just singing the MANTRA:HARE CANON HARE CANON, CANON CANONHARE HARE!Canon has done all wrong. Canon did make a stupid construction of the 5Dmk3. A Wrong marketing. Wrong price.And, reading your various comments, I would say: Canon paid too many naive troll. These Canon-trolls are part of the wrong marketing strategy of Canon. Perhaps the radiation from Fukushima, destroyed the brain to the managers of Canon.I don't know why Canon has become so stupid, but it is evident that the 5Dmk3 will be a financial flop, a failure.I'll tell you why:Those who spend between 2800 and 3500 dollars for a camera, wants to know PROFESSIONALLY DETAILED the truth , they don't read the crap written by stupid Canon-trolls.Nikon D800 = 95 POINTSCanon 5DmKIII = 81 POINTS(DxOMark - Sensor scores)ACCEPTED THE EVIDENCE!

The Nikon D800 is the winner. Everything else is just fantasy, lies. Basically the D800 is a JEWEL, a miracle of technology. Everyone should admit this truth.OK, I know it: to expect from Canon this immense intellectual honesty, it seems to me exaggerated and too optimistic. But people can demand this maturity. Canon should at least put an end to any violence in blogs and forums. Canon should fire the Canon-trolls. Canon should spend their money in building a good sensor, not in building TROLLS!Every time we talk about the quality of the sensors, the CANON-Talibans arrived and are very violent, in forums and blogs.ENOUGH! STOP!

Dxomark has estimated only 81 points to the Canon 5DmarkIII! As I had expected. The 5Dmark3 is just the 5Dmark2 with a better autofocus. That's all.A bit of intellectual honesty. And you know the world.As I said, Nikon did it BETTER! Not only business but also a great SENSOR!While this time Canon wanted to do just business whit a old camera shamelessly packaged as a new one.

The Nikon lens list for the D800 is just to get you to buy new lenses. The 24-120 f4 VR and the 28-300 VR are NOT good enough at all at the longer end and at full aperture settings. They are not. The new primes are, but the 70-200 VR is no match for the sensor really- its no way as good as the Canon versions, and has a lot of vignetting.

A lot of older lenses are perfectly OK, but you have to accept that though sharp their native peak resolution is less than the D800 sensor all over. So the D700 is a better bet unless you need the extra size. It just is.

Because you will have then the pain of realizing that even the new lenses do not all match the D800 sensor across the frame anyway- it is well over 4000, whereas the 16MP D4 is only (only!) 2700, visibly a lot less, and it was for this resolution sensor that the last generation of lenses was made by Nikon, and why Canon 1Ds MkII and III and 5D MkII owners buy Nikon lenses to use with adaptors.

Resolution:Easy winner. Nikon's RAW files are more detailed, almost 3D like. I can't really explain it other than the pictures look more real. I can crop a photo to 1/3 it's size (12 megapixels) and it still looks stunning. I wonder how much better the D800e version is. I'll have to wait until my friend receives his to find out.

Autofocus:About the same. Canon and Nikon have awesomely quick autofocus and I couldn't determine a difference. The only caveat is that Nikon focuses better in lowlight (without the autofocus assist lamp) and also the Nikon focuses when there is almost no light (with the autofocus assist lamp). Why the heck doesn't Canon include an autofocus assist lamp is beyond me. Also, Nikon's face detection is extremely useful because it focuses right on the eyeballs.

Flash:Easy winner. Canon doesn't have built in flash. Nikon flash worked surprisingly well.

Design your very own DSLR? Why not. A D800 with the vertical grip just there on this same body size? no problem. The AF option switch back WITH the options? No problem. It is easy to just run a grip around the base of any camera as it it, placing the vertical buttons on the edge of the corner. The Big Battery Base was due to big batteries! They are not big any more. Then a Nice focus wheel as well like Canon 5d and 1D series have, which of course is easily accessible vertically (as on a 1Ds?> No problem) A 5 year US warranty and US pricing? No worries then. Packing designed to protect the camera in transit?

YOU MUST BE JOKING!! Not even the Tsunami and the earthquakes can wake some people up to the simple basics. Where's Clarkson??!

Mine has to go back due to serious autofocus problems. The AF is all over the place and taking out of focus pictures of trees with the 14-24 f2.8 when they are 50 metres away and counting is just not funny at all. My focus unit is not doing the face recognition at all either, and I am not alone, so before you pay out the cost of a round the world trip, or two years in India and Nepal, or your kids fees, PLEASE force the retailer to run a series of checks with you there. Snaps of people moving around with Auto AF and 3 dimensional subject matter of a complex kind because it does test cards and walls perfectly! so beware. Mine focusses behind most of the time, or so much in front that nothing is ever quite sharp. Using manual lenses and their distance/depth of field scales though, results are stonkingly good, very good colour. VERY. AF toggle options non-existant-one point, one move at a time, the grouping of D200 days gone, so perfect AF NECESSARY for 100% prints etc. Spock out

I had the same experience with my D700, until I learned how to perform autofocus fine tuning and save the adjustments in the camera body for each lens used. If you do this same homework assignment, you will learn how to fine tune the focus for all of your lenses.

Furthermore, a periodic recheck is advised, especially before important events, or travel plans. Lenses contains electronics and high precision servo motors that need ocassional fine tuning to perform consistently well on each camera body. This must be done for every lens and camera body combination used.

I am betting that you will have tears of joy, after this work is completed.

Unfortunately Theophis, AF fine-tuning does not work when the camera's autofocus unit itself is faulty! It is designed to correct variations in lenses relative to a PERFECTLY ACCURATE AF system.An imperfectly accurate AF system ADDS to any lens errors! I did try AF correction settings-for an entire day using it normally and with live view on a tripod pointed at flat wall-type targets. It got those right half the time-even in the dark, but just could not cope with any 3D targets at all, and the face recognition which with the AF I bought the machine for in the first place was completely inoperative all of the time. Out of hundreds of shots of people not a single image showed a single sensor-let alone a group of sensors, anywhere near a human face. I am not joking,faces just blobs is not funny at all- and I already miss the machine dreadfully, but will just have to wait until they get me one that DOES work. So will everyone else....

I am trying to decide between buying the D800 and 5d mkiii. I have not seen much discussion about typical file sizes for stills and video. The 75 Mbyte stills for the D800 seems insanely large. All the comparisons between the D800 and 5d mkiii seem to talk to these large 75 meg files.

For the average non-professional user what file type and size would I see for the D800 and 5d mkiii? For stills and video

In other words, to avoid cannibalism between their own cameras, Nikon has created character differences of cameras, but did not create differences in quality or in digital "intelligence".And this is a very clever marketing strategy.But above all: this is an honest marketing strategy.36 MP vs 16 MP, detail against sensitivity.Nikon is doing the right thing!But Canon is always doing something wrong: good 1D autofocus against stupid 5D autofocus.This marketing strategy of Canon is wrong, and too OLD.Again, also in this, Nikon is already in the FUTURE. Canon is in the past!

No, I think Nikon has made a mistake with their ranges - something Canon has done several times but never this bad ! Talk about confusing the client base and this coming on top of those awful V1 & J1 things. Why would any none pro purchase a D4 when the D800 is so so far ahead? As for the D800 - impressive but still not as good as the Canon 5D Mk3 for video. No I'm not a Canon fanboy - I use BOTH Nikon & Canon. Ps - are you just a raver or will you actually purchase a D800 ??????

D800 and D4 are different enough to be bought for different uses. For professional photographers D800 would be a great studio, portrait and landscape body, for news & sports photography D4 is better. D800 has the best IQ, but in usability and speed D4 is better, and the picture quality and size is perfectly good enough for all press work.

And yes, I will be getting both. Time will tell which one will be the main tool, which one the backup.

The new Nikon D800 is the best selling DSLR camera on Amazon!Nikon has done a GREAT job.Nikon has created two different targets in the range of expensive cameras, these differences are related to the different characteristics of photographers and to the diversity of graphic photos(Corporate Identity and Corporate Design).Nikon D800 and Nikon D4 have different characteristics, but both Cameras are fully functional machines. Canon, instead, has done a BAD job and some Cameras are not fully functional Cameras(see BAD AUTOFOCUS OF 5D MARK-2)! Canon has created different CASTE, not only different TARGET! Canon penalizes, mutilates, cuts, mortify, castrates their own cameras, to keep alive this caste system of users. It should be a target-corporate design system, not a caste system.Nikon does not mutilates, does not castrates their own cameras! Nikon simply changing characteristics of the machine, and of course the price, but not the functionality(no BAD Autofocus on Nikon Cameras).

i would like to know what they did with the rubber part on the ledt side, next to the usb door, that allways falls of with the d700

that and the rubber thats under your thumb are the only improvements i want from nikon, otherwise i think from now on if my d700 ever breaks i will buy used d700 for the next couple of years. next to leica m8 (+n)

and 15 years after i found out that film will die, i have my poerfect replacement for my Fe2 which, at some point of my life, i thought was the last camera i would ever need :)

praise the D700 and buy d800 so the used market for the D700 gets overflooded with them :)

Hi Barney,Thanks for the review.I have received my camera and based on one wedding event, the camera is outstanding.I have found two issues that I would like you to look at:1. The memory buffer for burst shooting. I find it impossible to be above 13. I set the maximum to anything between 13 and 100 and it shows always r13. IF I set the max below 13, then the actaul follows.2. Clean image sensor in the setup menu. No matter what you set and press OK, it shows "--" as if it has been set to Cleaning off.

The woman's portrait has very good detail but even enlarged twice it isn't any sharper than what I've seen from mf4/3 with good glass, e.g., Olympus EPL-1, 2 or 3 with Panny 20/1.7 or Leitz-Panny 25/1.4.

As for the FACT that the D800 has the world's best sensor ... well, fact is just another four-letter word.

Fact is fact. EXAMPLE:Keep the proper proportions: if you do not like this photo of Nikon D800, you should know that other cameras are worse than the Nikon D800. In fact, NOBODY HAS DEFINED THE SENSOR OF 5DMARK3: "THE BEST SENSOR OF THE WORLD".Today, the best sensor is the Nikon D800 sensor(see DxOMark Sensor Scores).This is a FACT, is not advertising of Nikon. Overcoming this camera will be very very difficult.Sorry Canon, you don't win anything with advertising. And it is right so. There are also experts in photography, not just nerds who buy blindly after reading advertising. The D800, changed the history of FF SLR cameras and is close to medium format.Guys, DON'T be jealous!This is a fact. Another fact is this: nobody can stop technology.If we had waited for conservative people, digital would never have existed. If we had waited for the Conservatives , photography itself could never have existed.In life, there is not only business, but also the real RESEARCH!

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